


Despair to Thee, my Brothers

by LunarRaevyn



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Almost everyone is gay because why not, Alternate Universe - Mastermind, But there are going to be many implied ships just be aware, Death, Despair, F/M, Hope, In which Taka had two brothers and they're triplets, Just one character is original tbh, M/M, Mastermind AU, The main ships are Ishimondo and Ishidagiri (Kirigiri and Ishida), Triplets, rare pairs, triplets au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-06 06:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5406887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarRaevyn/pseuds/LunarRaevyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kiyotaka, Ishida, and Kiyondo Ishimaru are all attending Hope's Peak Academy. isn't it great? It was, until one brother began to pull at their friends' strings, and not just their friends', but theirs too. Sometimes, they bitterly wish their brother had stolen away their memories as well.<br/>(Triplets AU. Kiyondo is the Mastermind who still feels regret at what he's doing. Mukuro is already dead, Junko is here instead. I'm very tired as of writing this summary, I promise the story is better than this.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Hello, School of Hope

Prologue: School of Hope

The school before them stood tall, so tall neither brother could truly see the top of it properly. It towered over their only-slightly above-average forms, intimidating yet exciting one of the trio.

“I can hardly believe that we’ve been accepted into the Hope’s Peak Academy!” exclaimed Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the second-oldest of the triplets and newly-titled Ultimate Moral Compass. His red eyes glowed like shining stars as he grinned, perfectly crisp white uniform looking somehow tidier for the first day.

He looked to his brothers, hoping to hear similar remarks. Kiyondo Ishimaru, the Ultimate Silver Tongue, rolled his murky red eyes at his siblings’ enthusiasm.

“I suppose it is a nice school. However, must they make us wear these. . .distasteful uniforms? If we hadn’t dyed our hair to look different, nobody could tell us apart until we spoke!” Kiyondo emphasized by gesturing to the brown suit-like outfit with a garishly red tie, then upwards to his half-white half-black hair, the white of course being dyed.

He and Ishida Ishimaru (the final triplet) had never really been as pumped about school as Taka was, but they both still enjoyed school anyway, because if you’re going to be forced there, you might as well have some fun while you’re there, right?

Ishida smirked, raking a hand through his short, snow white hair. “At least this time, my pranks and stuff might be accepted!” said the Ultimate Rule-Breaker, his talent being as stark a contrast to Kiyotaka’s as their hair colors.

Taka turned to raise a bushy black eyebrow at him. “As long as I am in that school, there will be no rule breaking, Ishida!”

Ishida glowered, fiery red eyes burning. “I’ll shove a banana up your tailpipe if you try an’ stop me!”

As the two bickered, Kiyondo sighed. “And just like that, the year is already a mess.”

He placed his hands on their shoulders, forcefully breaking the two up from the verbal smackdown and towards the school. Sometimes, a more direct approach does wonders.

As the two ahead of him were lost in thought, Kiyondo was no different. The two-toned triplet looked at his younger brothers, both of which he still had his hands rested on their shoulders, and mentally sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he thought. “I wish this could be avoided somehow, but, it is not meant to be.” The doors opened, and he thought one more thing before going to mingle with the other students in his year.

“Good luck. I hope you’ll forgive me.”


	2. Hello, School of Hope (End of Prologue)

Prologue: School of Hope  
One year later.

Ishida, being the nuisance he is, did not listen to his brother. At all. He was running full-speed away from the scene of his newest rule-breaking accomplishment: Hanging a toilet seat above the teacher’s blackboard and making it look like a horseshoe for “good luck” since today was a testing day.

As he sprinted down the halls, he howled with laughter, a much different response to the situation than Kiyotaka, who was speed-walking ever nearer to his surprisingly-slow-even-when-sprinting sibling, the black-haired teen was shouting out to him.

“GET BACK HERE! FACE YOUR DETENTION LIKE A MAN!” He yelled, his voice reflecting how badly he would’ve loved to just run up and tackle him, but this was a school, not a playground.

On the other hand, Ishida turned back for a brief moment, flipping him the finger, at which Taka gasped in shock. Such indecency! No matter how out of breath he was, Ishida still managed to be a shit.

That is, until Kiyondo, ever the sneaky bastard, came out from behind a wall, grabbed his brother’s arm, and forced him to stop.

As Taka slowed down to a normal brisk pace, he clasped a hand onto the salt-and-pepper haired boy’s shoulder, laughed uproariously.  
  
“Good work, Kiyondo-niisan, we’ve caught him! And now. . .” He triumphantly wrote out the detention slip, causing the youngest sibling to sigh loudly in defeat.

Kiyondo snickered softly at that, then went back to his serious expression. That wasn’t weird in itself, for him to be serious, but the vibe he was giving was eerie, almost like he’d just steeled himself. For what, neither knew.

“Kiyondo-niisan,” Ishida said, finally slowing his heat rate back to normal. “Is everything okay?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, he did his trademark tilted smirk. “Meet me in classroom 3-B after school, okay? I’ll explain then.” Not missing a beat, he sauntered away, leaving his siblings in complete and utter confusion.

Not knowing what else to say, they each headed to their final class for the day.

* * *

 

Taka, ever punctual, found himself in front of the classroom (the room being right next to Kiyondo’s final class in 3-A) precisely as soon as the class ended and he had cleaned up the room.

He waited, pacing in circles as he worked on trying to figure out what Kiyondo meant. Did something bad happen? Did someone get hurt? Was their dad in the hospital?

He stopped, shaking his head. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he muttered aloud.

“You’re already ridiculous enough,” Ishida said, walking up silently so as to startle him. And startle he did, as Taka nearly jumped a foot into the air, hand clutched over his heart.

Ishida’s laughter was cut short as the door to the classroom opened, and Kiyondo motioned them inside.

He shut the door behind them once they walked in, and sighed. Now or never, and he was the Ultimate Silver Tongue, he could persuade them.

Taka was first to voice his concerns, eyes swirling with emotion. “What did you need to talk to us about?”  
  
He cleared his throat softly. “I’m glad you asked. You see, I’ve been thinking. We’re all such good friends with everyone in our year, right? Especially you and that Oowada character, right, Taka?” he smirked. This tactic could work on them, maybe.

It seemed to work wonders, as Taka blushed a cherry red, causing Ishida to laugh.

“‘Bout time your butt came out of that closet!” he gasped between fits of laughter. That just made him blush more, but in an angered or embarrassed manner, no one knew.

“I’ve seen you getting rather buddy-buddy with that Kirigiri, so I wouldn’t talk so much about that,” Kiyondo all but purred.

Ishida stopped and went as red as his eyes, causing Taka to laugh right back. The eldest triplet rolled his eyes.

“Well,” he began, “I’ve decided that we could make quite a bundle if we made a reality show about us Ultimates and our friends living together for a time and trying to get along. People eat shows like that up, you know?” He knew this would get them; Taka especially, since he’d do anything (legal, of course) to get them out of the debt their grandfather placed them in.

They still seemed skeptical, however, even as he could see their gazes softening.

“Are you sure that’d be okay?” Ishida asked. Even he was concerned for his friends. In any case, they still would need to consent to this all.

“I’ve already discussed this with them, and they seem all for it!” he lied, a grin plastered on his face. What the didn’t know couldn’t hurt them, right?

The three stared at each other for quite some time, weighing things out. In the end, though, his persuasions won out, as Taka and Ishida smiled broadly.

“Let’s do it!”

**  
**“ _I’m so, so sorry, Kiyotaka, Ishida_ ,” the dark eyed teen thought once more. The killing game would soon commence, and he didn’t want to erase their memories. They’re _brothers_ ; he couldn’t have them forget him and the times they shared.  
  
As soon as he got to his room, he questioned whether or not it was all worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prologue: Hello, School of Hope: End  
> Save data?  
> Yes [o]  
> No []
> 
> Loading Chapter 1. . .


	3. To Survive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loading. . .  
> Loading. . .  
> Chapter 1: To Survive  
> Start

Chapter 1: To Survive  
Daily Life

Kiyondo sighed as he sat in the control room. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep the secret forever, about how this wasn’t just a reality show. Oh no, it was being broadcasted, don’t get him wrong, just. . . not as they expected.

Regardless, they still knew about the Tragedy, and about the student deaths, but they still didn’t know who was behind that. They were still laughing as they walked through the corridors to the gym, Ishida having said something mighty hilarious if Taka’s booming laughter was any indication.

They trusted him.  
  


“They trust in me,” he said, sadly. “And I’m betraying that trust in the worst possible manner.”

He still felt like this was the right thing. His partner in all of this, Junko Enoshima, had assured him so. She was already in the gym, ready to play her part, but he knew her fate rested in his hands already. She did, too, probably, sharp as she was.

He put on an emotionless face, ready for any and all outcomes as he turned on the Monokuma unit in the gym.

The microphone and voice changing module had just begun working as the final student, one Makoto Naegi (a good kid, Kiyondo had muttered), slid into the room.

Before too many conversations could pop up, he started his spiel.

“Hello? Testing, testing, mic check, 1, 2! Can everybody hear me?” He didn’t pause for an answer that he knew already, “Good!”

The shortest student, Chihiro Fujisaki, looked befuddled. “A. . .Teddy bear?”  
  


He scoffed into the microphone, keeping a close eye on his brothers for their reactions. The looked almost worried, and Kiyondo pretended that that pang in his chest wasn’t guilt.

“I am not a teddy bear,” he stated matter-of-factly in the voice-changing devices artificial voice. “I. . .am. . .Monokuma!”  
  


“Mono. . .kuma?” Taka asked hesitantly. 

 

“Monokuma!” He responded, tapping the android’s “paws” together, like clasping hands.

“I am the headmaster of this school! Now, regarding the end-date for your school life here. . . It’s not going to end! You’ll be here until the day you die!” He cheerfully exclaimed. Better they know now, but not even Taka and Ishida knew of the stolen memories yet.

And now, as looks of realization hit them, they did.

The hurt in their eyes was killing him, but he couldn’t do anything about it. This was necessary.

“Wh-what do you mean, “until we die”?! You can’t keep us here forever!” exclaimed the Idol, Sayaka Maizono in her slightly-too-high voice. He sincerely hoped she’d be offed first in this little game—The two never got along, and even if she didn't remember him, he'd always remember her.

“I mean that you’ll be in this little school until you all get old and croak!” the disguised Kiyondo said, then began to make the bear tap its chin in “thought”.

“Ah, well, there is _one_ way to get out. . .”  
  


The esteemed Affluent Progeny, Byakuya Togami, pushed his glasses up in a bored manner. “And what might that be?”

“Murder, of course.”

  
It was like a bomb had been dropped.

“M-murder?!” Ishida all but screeched. He may be the Ultimate Rule-Breaker, but to kill someone? That’s. . .

“That’s right! Burning, bashing, drowning, pummeling, crushing, poisoning, stabbing; No matter how you do it, you gotta kill one of your classmates to get out.”  
  
Some students looked like they would need a bag to be sick, others were too afraid to move, and others still were simply bored and uncaring.

His gaze lingered on his family for a little longer, taking in the surprised, scared, and even angered looks in their eyes. Betrayal was layered thickly around their very beings.

“You piece of shit,” Mondo Oowada said. The Outlaw Biker started shouting. “You. . . DO YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE?”  
  


Monokuma just poked his large pompadour.

“The only joke here, bub, is your hair.”

Now, he was enraged. “WHAT DID YOU SAY, PUNK?!”

He grabbed the Monokuma who was now struggling in his tight grasp, screaming about how violence against the headmaster was strictly prohibited.

“I DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE! LET US OUT OR I’LL RIP YA TO FUCKIN’ SHREDS!”

As he drew his fist back, a loud beeping made him falter. “What? Nothing else to say?”

The beeping grew louder and quickened in pace.

A purple haired girl, Kyouko Kirigiri, raised her voice. “Throw it!”

“What?”

“Just do it! Throw the bear!”

And throw the bear he did, the black-and-white Monokuma unit exploding into a cloud of dust and mechanical pieces.

“It tried to kill me. . . It seriously tried to fuckin’ kill me!”

Chihiro raised their hand, however. “Um. . . if Monokuma just exploded. . . Does that mean we can just leave?”  
  


“Of course not, ya nitwits!” said a voice from the podium.

 

Again, an identical bear popped up, scaring the living daylights out of a few students.

Mondo erupted once more. “You tried to kill me!”

If it could roll its eyes, it probably would’ve. “Of course I did, you broke a rule: Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is forbidden! Next time, I won’t be so lenient with your punishment.”

Soon after, as there wasn’t much else to be done other than handing out the ElectroIDs, Monokuma disappeared from the room as if turning into the very air, leaving silence and misery in its wake.

Taka and Ishida went to their rooms to check them out, both finding a note on the bed that they knew was just for them. Deciding to wait to tell each other, they continued to explore their surroundings.

A two shelves, a large table, desks, a notepad, a bathroom, it was a standard dorm with red-ish wallpaper, some blues thrown around. Generally normal looking. . . Until they found a toolkit with a paper detailing good points to hit to strike down a human.

After a while, they discovered the dorms were soundproof, and so when they met up in Taka’s room, they read the note.

“It had to be done. Please, forgive me.”

Taka’s eyes welled up with tears, both of betrayal and despair at how his own brother could do this to them, their friends, everyone they care about. . .

“No.”

  
Taka jolted at the sudden word.

“What?” He looked at Ishida, eyes shining with tears.

“I said no,” Ishida repeated simply, as if it was obvious what he meant.

“. . .”

“I refuse to just. . . just accept what Kiyondo-niisan has done! I refuse to be locked up like a damn animal!” He looked right at the surveillance camera, eyes alight in a red-hot fury.

“WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!” he screamed, voice cracking with all the emotions within him. Taka couldn’t find it in him to calm the younger down. This was how he coped.

“I’m. . .right here.”

The voice made them jump, and as they spun around. . .

“You,” was all Ishida said, his vindictive tone coloring the single word.

“Me,” Kiyondo said, turning off the voice changer. He was going to speak with them one-on-one-on-one.

“What the heck did you do to our friends? Why can’t they remember stuff?!” Ishida yelled furiously.

He sighed. “I erased their memories. They think they’ve just entered this school for the first time, and they don’t remember you, or me, or any of the relationships they once had.

“So. . . Kyoudai. . .” Taka began, color draining from his face. If bears could make grim faces, then this is it.

“Unfortunately, yes. He doesn’t remember you.”

“And. . . Kirigiri?” Ishida asked, already knowing the answer.

“True, yet again. However, you can still form those bonds again, so that’s something.”  
  
The room was silent for an uncomfortable few minutes, until the Monokuma tried to exit, at which point Taka stopped it.

“Wait!’ he said, making it stop. “Why? Why are you making us do this?!” he cried, desperately needing an answer.

In the control room, Kiyondo closed his eyes, not letting the tears fall.

  
“Because it’s necessary. For the world I created, for the good of us all, I needed to do this. So please,” his voice softened, “just stay alive.”  
  


And he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loading. . .  
> Loading. . .  
> Part two of Daily Life. . .


End file.
